The joint meeting of AIT Consulting’s (AITC) Advisory Board and Technical Council was held on 11 February 2015 at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) to review the outcome of 2014 and discuss strategies and plans for 2015 and beyond.
Established to drive the organization forward, the Advisory Board and Technical Council serve active roles in the overall operations of AIT Consulting. The Advisory Board is comprised of trusted representatives from AIT’s partner institutions, international organizations, industry representatives, AIT alumni, and members of the AIT Administration. To support the thrusts of AITC, many of the Technical Council members come from the AIT administration, deans of the schools, faculty members, and directors of various centers at AIT and offer expert guidance as co-stakeholders to the projects undertaken by AITC.
The first topic focused on the approval of the minutes of the 2014 board meeting. The discussion was mainly on the online learning platform which was developed by AIT Consulting. The board agreed that AIT Consulting should continue developing the online platform with the support from AIT administration, faculties, and other units.
AIT Consulting presented the Annual Report 2014. The report highlighted AITC’s activities, initiatives, and accomplishments in 2014. During the year, AITC initiated 41 projects with 28 ongoing projects from 2013. AITC worked on a total of 69 total projects in 2014. AITC signed several MoUs in 2014, one of the most significant was with Prashak, India. AITC is currently working with Prashak on a housing project in Nigeria focusing on Habitech building technology.
Current initiatives include the development of the new website which is scheduled for launch in 2015 to include new features, more content such as expert blogs, videos, and the publications. All the videos in the seminars and events AITC organizes will also be converted into posts or articles that will be available in the website.
After presenting the accomplishments of AIT Consulting, Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, VP for Academic Affairs, AIT and the meeting’s Chair on behalf of Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, led the discussions on increasing collaboration with AIT faculty, alumni, and students in the form of internships. The theme for next AIT Technology Event set to be held sometime in October 2015 was also discussed. The board agreed that the next AIT event should revolve around the theme “Housing for All” which encompasses all aspects of social housing including cost-effectiveness, disaster-resiliency, and sustainability. The event will be organized in collaboration with all AIT units and will also showcase an exhibition demonstrating various technologies, innovations, solutions, projects, research outcomes, and applications related to affordable housing.
AITC also presented its Business Plan for 2015-2017 which focuses on its commitment to society, clients and partners, and the Institute. AITC seek the approval from the board for an office expansion as the organization is growing and the current space is becoming very limited.
Advisory Board:
Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai (Board Chair), President, AIT
Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, VP for Academic Affairs, AIT
Prof. Kanchana Kanchanasut, VP for Research, AIT
Prof. Ricardo P. Pama, President, University of the Cordilleras, Philippines
Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Executive Director, AIT Extension
Dr. Saeed Zaki, Regional Managing Director, Design Worldwide Partnership
Mr. Jose A. Sy, President and CEO, SY^2+Associates, Philippines
Mr. Chaovalit Ekabut, VP Finance and Investment and CFO, Siam Cement Public Company Ltd., Thailand
Mr. Vatana Supornpaibul, Director, Amata Corporation PCL, Thailand
Mr. Tuck Oon Choong, Senior AIT Alumnus
Dr. Naveed Anwar (Board Secretary), Executive Director, AIT Consulting
Technical Council:
Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, VP for Academic Affairs, AIT
Prof. Chettiyappan Visvanathan, Dean, School of Environment, Resources and Development, AIT
Prof. Voratas Kachitvichyanukul, Dean, School of Engineering and Technology, AIT
Dr. Donyaprueth Krairit, Dean, School of Management, AIT
Prof. Pennung Warnitchai, Professor, School of Engineering and Technology, AIT
Prof. Mukand Singh Babel, Director, Center for Sustainable Development in the Context of Climate Change
Dr. Manukid Parnichkun, Associate Professor, Mechatronics, School of Engineering and Technology, AIT
Dr. Brahmanand Mohanty, Visiting Professor, School of Environment, Resources and Development, AIT
Dr. Matthew Dailey, Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Technology, AIT
Dr. Naveed Anwar (Board Secretary), Executive Director, AIT Consulting
